August 2025
Welcome to Matters of Mind (MM)
Did you know that 95% of women will be their family’s primary financial decision-maker at some point, largely due to longer life expectancy? Source: UBS & WHO, 2024
This is a sobering thought, and one which we hope will encourage our women readers to take an active role in managing their finances, and for those who are building their futures together to share their knowledge, uplift one another, and be open to change.
“People think good decision-making is about being right all the time. It’s not. It’s about lowering the cost of being wrong and changing your mind.
When the cost of mistakes is high, we’re paralysed with fear. When the cost of mistakes is low, we can move fast and adapt.
Make mistakes cheap, not rare.” Shane Parish
Mistakes cannot be avoided, but we can be better informed.
Join us in exploring the impact of tariffs and monetary policy, the threat to cybersecurity and the hype and reality of AI in business, life and health and how finance and industry are adjusting to geopolitical uncertainty and climate change.
Do not forget to absorb the goodwill in the About You section, which offers compassion and ancient wisdom on leisure time and the importance of self-development.
Enjoy!
MM Editorial Team
Economic Matters
… if he decides to forbid foreign investors from investing in the country’s debt.
Such a decision would force local financial institutions to take on another 20% or so of government debt – something they are already overexposed to, according to the Reserve Bank.
The article cites one thing SA is getting right, but you need to read it to the end! 3min read
The past two weeks saw several important central banks make interest rate decisions. Before getting to the two that are particularly important for South African investors, it is worth zooming out a bit.
Good local and global context provided on the impact of interest rate changes. 5min read
This article follows on from the one above and is once again citing global forces and their impact locally. A PDF of the article is available here. 12 min read
When 2,000 CEOs, investors, heads of state, and ministers gathered at the 2025 Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, a single call to action resonated loudly: a new deal is needed between the state and the private sector to give the continent a winning hand.
A call to realise the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. 4min read
This is a moment that demands clarity, not consensus. It demands that Africa finally break with the legacy of managed dependency and embrace the messier, harder, but ultimately more liberating path of building for ourselves.
This article provides the opinion of an economist who specialises in climate change and governance, with a long background at the United Nations and the African Union. 4min read
An interesting account of what will happen if tariffs are not reversed. You will recall that the administration pressed the pause button earlier this year because American businesses and consumers were suffering. 3min read
Financial Services Industry
Partners of the firm voted for the appointment on the 31st of July 2025, signalling not only the strength of expertise that Pierce brings to the firm, but also that the newly elected CEO offers unparalleled expertise in both leading the business, as well as understanding the unique and dynamic nature of the client and economic environment in which it operates.
2min read
Sanlam Retail Mass has announced the appointment of Anele Mbuya as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), bringing a wealth of pan-African and actuarial expertise to the role.
2min read
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has today confirmed the reappointment of Marjorie Ngwenya as an External Member of the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC).
2min read
The Conduct of Financial Institutions (COFI) Bill is well on its way to ushering in a new era for South Africa’s financial services industry, one rooted in transparency, fairness, and stronger consumer protection.
3min read
According to Saksenberg, whose topic was ‘From data to value: unlocking AI in financial services,’ there are two main reasons why AI does not necessarily deliver the value that financial institutions are hoping for and can even be loss-making. ‘One is that they are solving interesting, but not valuable problems. The second is that the output of AI is just information. You need to act on this information.’
3min read
The recent Google cloud outage revealed a harsh truth: single cloud vendor reliance can become a systemic risk, triggering widespread contagion across industries and critical services.
4min read
When it comes to systemic cyber risks, cybersecurity experts rated Internet of Things (IoT) devices and large language models (LLMs) as the most immediate emerging risk areas of concern.
3min read
African countries lack the skills and technology to defend against AI and social media-driven cyber-attacks, warns Jason Lane-Sellers, director of Fraud and Identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
2min read
Diversity and Inclusion
Indigenous people make up only 6% of the world’s population but manage over a quarter of the world’s land surface. These groups, descended from original occupants of a geographical place and identifying as culturally distinct, possess knowledge about adapting to social and environmental change. Yet their perspectives are rarely included when it comes to planning for a future affected by climate change or biodiversity loss.
5min read
Life Insurance
South African life and health actuaries are starting to assess the potential long-term impact of climate change on the health and well-being of policyholders and what this could mean for the claims experience of life and health insurers.
4min read
The pharmaceutical company recently acquired about 50% of OneSpark, an insurtech startup, for R155.9 million. The merged Dis-Chem Life entity launched in February this year, gearing to capitalise on Dis-Chem’s expansive footprint across South Africa.
3min read
General Insurance
In the past, self-insurance was traditionally reserved for major corporate organisations. The new trend is that smaller businesses, unable or unwilling to pay millions to insurers, are choosing a blended program of traditional and self- insurance.
3.5min read
Shipping accounts for more planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions than Japan. The sector is responsible for 3% of all emissions globally, but the international body overseeing it has pledged to cut climate pollution by as much as 30% by 2030 and eliminate it by 2050.
6min read
When hurricanes or wildfires occur, the economic fallout is often glaring; roofs stripped away and scorched homes lining the streets. Yet, heat waves also inflict financial harm, albeit in a more widespread fashion: crops may wilt, construction can halt, and data centres may falter, leaving customers disconnected.
3.5min read
Storms regularly capture headlines for floods and power outages, falling trees present a quieter but equally costly threat.
The article highlights the importance of regular policy review, clarity and preparedness. 3min read
The article shows how the challenges of microinsurance can be met by being more inclusive of the needs of the rural farmers and their mistrust of insurance. Oxfam R4 Initiative which is a similar model helps farmers and communities manage risk.
3min read
Health Insurance
The Genesis Analytics report, commissioned by the Health Funders Association (HFA) to assess the feasibility and impact of the NHI Act, highlights seven major downside risks that could destabilise South Africa’s health system, weaken public finances, and ultimately reduce access to care. These risks particularly affect the very people the NHI seeks to support.
Bigger picture economic perspective of the downside risks. 5min read
At a recent Business Day TV roundtable hosted by Profmed, healthcare, finance, and policy leaders came together to debate the economic and structural realities of the NHI Act, which has been signed into law.
Read the summary or watch the panel discussion on the same site. 4min read
With its unmatched ability to process vast datasets at speed and scale, AI is opening new frontiers in diagnosis, treatment and healthcare delivery. The impact on global health systems is profound: enabling earlier interventions, advancing personalised medicine and significantly reducing administrative inefficiencies.
3min read
Banking
Capitec and First National Bank (FNB) are the first financial institutions to integrate ID applications into their apps. The department unveiled the technology recently at FNB and Capitec branches in Cape Town, as it seeks to replace more green ID books.
2.5min read
This follows the May announcement by Sanlam and TymeBank of their plans to launch a joint venture focused on unsecured lending, with embedded credit life insurance and cross-selling opportunities at its core.
2min read
As artificial intelligence (AI) takes on a growing role in financial services, from granting loans, to automating small-business bookkeeping, banks grapple with how to use it responsibly and authorities seek to put rules in place.
3min read
Investments
Central banks have accumulated over 1,000t of gold in each of the last three years, up significantly from the 400-500t average over the preceding decade. This marked acceleration in the pace of accumulation has occurred against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which has clouded the outlook for reserve managers and investors alike.
The report is summarised and also available in full or infographic format. 2.5min read
In the same way as buying a car involves choosing a type of vehicle and then deciding on a specific brand or model, investing entails selecting both the type of product and its underlying investment instruments i.e. the types of funds or asset groups in which you invest.
3min read
While South Africa’s sluggish economic growth and persistent structural challenges continue to weigh on investor confidence, Foord Asset Management believes long-term opportunities can still be found by investors who look beyond the macro headlines.
3min read
The Conversation has collaborated with climate finance experts to create this user-friendly guide, in partnership with Vogue Business.
Jointly there are eighteen different concepts, terms and instruments with definitions and short videos (3min), from Blue Bonds to Net Zero. The glossary will grow as new terms emerge.
Retirement / Pensions
Peer review transforms what could be a compliance exercise into a powerful engine for professional development and strategic advancement in pension management.
An article of substance and depth leading one to appreciate the importance of meticulous evaluation as the cornerstone of sensible management in an era of unpredictability and scrutiny. 10min read
Whether a person is a dependant should be determined with reference to when a retirement fund member died, not the date on which the fund decides on how the death benefit should be distributed, the Constitutional Court has found.
4min read
About YOU
Self-care is the first step to your overall health. Without it, our overall health – our mind, relationships, and outlook on life – will suffer. Life will always challenge us and throw unexpected curve balls. It is a reality! But you can manage and overcome those boulders in the road.
10min read
In his powerful book “The Burnout Society,” South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han argues that in modern society, individuals have an imperative to achieve. Han calls this an “achievement society” in which we must become “entrepreneurs” – branding and selling ourselves; there is no time off the clock.
4min read